


A Kingdom falls. An Empire rises

by MechanicusBob



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dragon Age: Inquisition Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 08:08:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15287370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MechanicusBob/pseuds/MechanicusBob
Summary: Set during the year in which Corypheus conquered Thedas after banishing the Inquisitor during In Hushed Whispers





	A Kingdom falls. An Empire rises

Alistair looked out over the sea of advisors and petitioners awaiting his attention and prayed for Elizabeth's safety.  
  
The Inquisitor had been reported missing six months ago and ever since, Corypheus had been sweeping across southern Thedas. Venatori spies had been unearthed in courts and councils across the south and guerrilla forces had been razing farms and slaughtering soldiers and peasants alike throughout Fereldan. To make matters worse, contact with Aramanthine had been lost two month ago so the Grey Wardens could not be called upon; Zevran had been dispatched two weeks ago but his silence left Alistair assuming the worst. Denerim had become a hub for refugees from Highever, Redcliffe and the Dales.  
  
Orzimar's fate remained a mystery but Orlais, Par'Vollen and Tevinter had fallen and In the past months, mile after mile of Fereldan had steadily been lost to the Magister's forces. Templars, Mages, Demons and Darkspawn were all his to command and they drew closer to Denerim with each passing day.  
  
For Alistair, the day passed as it usually did: tightening up ration allowances, having the court mages send desperate pleas to any that might hear them, and trying to keep himself from going mad with worry.  
  
For Elizabeth, however, today was a day of eager preperation for the coming victory.  
  
..  
  
"Sire, it is no longer a matter for debate! The simple fact is that we cannot house any more refugees. We're at our utmost limit!"  
  
"You will keep the gates un-barred until _I_ say so!" Alistair stood from the throne and loomed over the captain. The months had been hard and he had frequently had to enforce his will upon his city and even make examples of a handful of dissenters. Haunting memories pleas for Mercy often kept him awake long into the night.  
  
The throne room fell silent as the guard captain quickly nodded and fled the room. It was rare to see the king so irate but none dared challenge him now. He knew it was foolish but he couldn't bring himself to deny people refuge when there was still time for them to reach safety before Corypheus' hordes reached the city. Even with his guerrilla band roving the country. Slowly, the mass of bodies dwindled as requests and petitions were heeded and dismissed until on Bann Teagan remained.  
  
"Alistair."  
  
"I know what you're thinking." The king buried his face in his hands before rubbing his wedding ring nervously with his thumb, "they're right. We have to close the gates eventually but we can't shut people out to die until we have no choices left."  
  
"They're scared, Alistair. Every day, droves of new faces come to the city and we have no way of knowing who are refugees and who are spies. For all we know, members of his ghost raiders could already have infiltrated the city."  
  
The so called "ghost raiders" had been roving Fereldan for six months now. Nobody had ever seen them, they left no trace, but everyone knew their work. Towns and villages were left barren when people were abducted or were razed to the ground; only abductions and razing, there were no half-measures taken by the mysterious force.  
  
"I know. Maker, I _know_. My duty isn't just to Denerim, it's to all the people of Fereldan; what sort of king would I be if I threw my people to the wolves?"  
  
"Unfortunately, my king, it is a choice you must make. At this moment, Denerim is all that matters so whilst I advice you heed your conscience but you can not afford to pity everyone. Denerim must survive."  
  
Alistair paced the length of the throne room several times before leaning on one of the vast granite pillars and resting his forehead on his arm.  
  
"I... ugh. Tell them, tell them to bar the gates at sundown and that until I say so, nobody else is to be allowed in or out."  
  
"It shall be done, my king." Teagan bowed and left Alistair alone with his thoughts. Both men knew a storm was coming but neither wanted to admit it.

~

Night fell and the last refugees scurried through the huge oaken gates before the bars were locked in place. A further two hundred had arrived throughout the day; men and women, Humans, Elves and Dwarves. A few claimed to be soldiers from across Fereldan and brought news of Redcliffe and Highever falling to the legions of Corypheus.  
  
Some had volunteered to help bolster the guard numbers by manning the walls and barricades, and by patroling the streets. Unbeknownst to the inhabitants of the city, no dark forces lurked amongst them. The Grey Lady had known the defenders would suspect such an obvious tactic; instead, she had gathered every Warden under her command and captured Gaatlock stockpiles had been brought south.  
  
Sappers had worked tirelessly for weeks to reach the walls and all who fell were rejuvinated to zealously continue the work of their Master. At last, the mine was ready. Carefully, silver barrels of black doom were piled beneath the eastern wall of the city.  
  
The explosion roared and the light split the darkness, reducing the mighty walls of Denerim to rubble. Scrambling over the ruins came an army of Men and Women; Dwarves, Elves and Humans; Warriors, Mages and Rogues. All baring the sigil of the Grey Wardens. Terror swept the defenders as arrows flew through the chaos and all manner of magics filled the night; from the centre of their numbers emerged rank upon rank of figures wielding every combination of weapons one could imagine. Desperate cries were cut short by cruel blades as the Grey Wardens fanned out and slaughtered the soldiers. Street by street. District by district.  
  
Civilians were ordered to remain in their homes and were promised to be unharmed if they obeyed.  
  
Leading the slaughter was a Plate-clad figure with a sword and shield, whose armour bore the Cousland laurels. On her left flank was a figure in leather with a bow and quiver slung across his back, brandishing a rapier in his right hand and on her right stood a Dwarf. Silent, clad in heavy-Plate armour and cradling an enchanted battle axe in his hands; the eldritch runes glowed red in the dim torch light of the streets.  
  
Militiamen charged the Grey Lady and her cohorts but their blood sprayed out onto the cobbles without the Wardens so much as flinching. A cruel laugh escaped the Grey Lady as she savoured the smell of burning torches, the hints of Gaatlock that clung to the air, and the freshly shed blood. Tucking a strand of her black hair behind her ear, Elizabeth's eyes were alight with joy and a cold smile crossed her lips as Alistair rode down the street to confront the Wardens.  
  
"No... No!" Alistair's heart shattered as he dismounted his horse. Before him was the woman he loved, with murder in her eyes. Nathaniel and Oghren flanked her, their eyes were not glazed over; they were not being forced. They were willing.  
  
Elizabeth watched him and felt her blood began to boil. The man she had loved, the man she remembered loving with all her heart, she now felt nothing but contempt for. Corypheus had warped her and she would be ever grateful to her master for opening her mind and freeing her of her chains.  
  
"Elizabeth!"  
  
Silently, she raised her shield and leveled her blade.  
  
"Liz, listen to me! You're being manipulated! It's me!"  
  
"Dont! Don't you dare, 'Liz' me." She snarled and motioned with her head, her fellows knew the Grey Lady had claimed her prey. "You abandoned me! You left me to die in the Deeproads. You always were spineless."  
  
"I... what!?"  
  
In the distance, plumes of flame soared into the night as Gaatlock was detonated in the Chantry. Alistair didn't care. He couldn't care.  
  
Elizabeth seethed as the memory of the Deeproads played in her mind. They had been searching the Deeproads for a cure and he had betrayed her. Slashing her leg and leaving her for dead as he fled the Darkspawn. Searing pain gripped her. A flash of green slew them. A towering figure was her saviour.

"He saved me when you fled. He cured me and he opened my eyes and to repay him, I cured the Wardens and brought them into his light." There was no hesitation in her voice. There was no doubt in her words; she was one more piece in Corypheus' twisted game.  
  
Tears fell silently down Alistair's cheeks as the pieces came together in his mind. He hadn't been with her during her search for a cure to the Calling, and Corypheus had found her and twisted her to his will. Steeling himself, Alistair mirrored his love's stance. His heart was impossibly heavy, he hoped against hope that the maker would be kind; that he wouldn't have to kill her. Her heart was eager, her conviction burned brightly against his reluctance.  
  
Elizabeth lunged and Alistair narrowly caught her blade on his own. His swings were defensive and deflective, he didn't want to hurt her; hers were swift and forceful. Every blow was precise, almost surgigal in its delivery.  
  
Clashing and splitting. Clashing and splitting, they circled one another and, as the screams and exposions elsewhere in the city slowly fell quiet, more and more Wardens massed around the Grey Lady and her prey.  
  
Once more, Elizabeth's blade clashed with Alistair's shield and he wrenched the blade from her hand. Leaping back, she scooped up a blade thrown into the impromptu arena by a fellow Warden and resumed her assault. Her attacks were relentless as she hammered Alistair's defences without any regard for her own survival. Finally, an opening emerged and Alistair cursed himself as he exploited it.  
  
Driving his sword into the small gap between the Elizabeth's breastplate and faulds, he felt the blade slice through the gambeson beneath as if it were made of straw. With a shallow gasp, Elizabeth fell to her knees but the Wardens remained still as a taunting voice filled the now still night air.  
  
"Well, well, well. It appears the pup does have teeth after all." From a haze of green light stepped a giant with ragged flesh. His skin was pulled taught around shards of red lyrium and his bones appeared fused with his skin and the lyrium. The Wardens surrounding Alistair and his dying love each sank to one knee and bowed their heads.  
  
"You!"  
  
"Silence, fool." Corypheus strode past Alistair, barely acknowledging his presence and waving a hand over the Grey Lady. "Rise."  
  
Pale red light shone from his gnarled hand and the blood pooling on the cobbles before Elizabeth ceased to flow. Alistair watched in appal as Elizabeth rose, the wound completely healed, and kneeled before the Magister. "Now, stand and fight. Do not fail me."  
  
Without a word, Elizabeth leapt for Alistair and feinted high with her sword.  
  
"I love you." She softly and sincerely, knowing it would cost her former love his focus and his life.  
  
"Eliz-"  
  
She drove the blade down behind his gorget and drew him in close as blood poured from the wound.  
  
"Long live the Queen." She whispered softly and cruelly in his ear before she let Alistair fall to the ground to choke on his own blood in the pale moon light; before kneeling again before her master.  
  
A cruel smile crept upon Corypheus' lips and intense satisfaction crashed over Elizabeth as Alistait coughed and spluttered. Flailing and convulsing as his blood ran into the gutters.  
  
"Arise, Grey Lady. You are to ensure this land's loyalty, you are to govern these peons in my name; as a vassal of my Empire. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"Yes, my Lord. You.. you honour me beyond words."  
  
"Your deeds shall attest to your honour. Bring this city to heel and then mobilize the rest of the Soldiers towards the Freemarches; both Wardens and Converts."

~

Before Elizabeth could respond, Corypheus vanished in another haze of light. She stood alone before the army kneeling of Wardens; the hounds of Corypheus. Taking the axe from Oghren's side, she buried the blade in the former king's chest and felt nothing for him. The man that she would once have died for, she now felt only pleasure in seeing his cold body sprawled out and desicrated in the middle of the road. Mages incinerated the body as Elizabeth led the Wardens towards the royal palace to await the arrival of soldiers from across Fereldan who had accepted the Master's gift.  
  
Reclining upon the throne, with Oghren and Nathaniel at either side, Elizabeth silently celebrated the dawn of a new age.  
  
~  
  
Within six months, the Freemarches, Antiva, Nevarra and Rivaini had falled and all of Thedas was under the Magister's thumb. The provinces were divided between governers who oversaw the daily business of their Master's lands whilst he issued decrees and Edicts from atop his spire in Minrathous.  
  
In Fereldan, the Grey Lady sat upon the throne and enforced the Overlord's will for the rest of her unnatually extended life. When the Grey Lady finally passed, after five centuries of devout service to her master, none were left who remembered her true name and none of her successors would be remembered with as much fear by the people of Fereldan.


End file.
